Every website starts with two things:
- Domain name
- Hosting server
Domain Names
A domain name (aka a domain) is the address of your website that people type in the browser URL bar to visit your website (i.e. www.yourdomain.com). In simple terms, if your website was a house, then your domain name will be its address. Domain names are available in many different extensions. The most popular one is .com. There are many other options like .org, .net, .tv, .info, .io, and more.
You can buy domain names from one of the many domain name registrars. A domain name typically costs 14.99 per year, but sometimes this can cost more depending on the popularity of the name. Some popular domain name companies that we recommend are:
Hosting Server
Think of the hosting server as a folder on your computer. When you go into that folder, you can see any files you put in there like pictures or text files. A hosting server does that for your website except people can access it around the globe because it's not on a personal computer. So we connect your domain name to your server and voila! People get to see a website.
Most of our clients choose to host on our agency's servers. If you do, our servers come with a Global CDN (Content Delivery Network) for fast speed, a free SSL Certificate, and automatic daily backups. Our servers are also monitored 24/7 for security and performance so that you don't need to have any technical know-how to maintain your server since we do this for you! Reach out to us for our current pricing if you're interested.
However, if you would rather host elsewhere then we always suggest the following:
Kinsta is a cloud server hosting company so they have really fast speed. And no matter which of their packages you choose, you get automatic daily back-ups, free security checks, a global CDN (makes your server faster across the world) AND free tech fixes in case your site gets hacked.
https://kinsta.com/plans/?kaid=TCSYJWEAAMAQ
Next, we suggest WP Engine. They're the same price as Wordpress.com but offer much more flexibility, speed, and security. They're used for more professional/larger sites. This is what I suggest if you're planning for your website to become really popular:
https://shrsl.com/30ojc